The McDermitt High Schoolgirls basketball team came home for a couple of conference games last weekend and they dispatched both of their foes handily.
On Friday, Carlin came to town, and the Railroaders were sent back on the tracks with a 64-18 defeat.
The Lady Bulldogs jumped out to a 25-7 first quarter lead and they never looked back, as they only allowed Carlin 11 more points in the rest of the game.
“This game was not really the home opener that we were looking for,” said MHS head coach Jaimi Wilkinson. “Carlin didn’t present much of a threat to us. My kids played very focused; they rebounded well and they shot the ball well, but we did not play well defensively. We have gone almost two months now without a home game, so we kind of had the jitters going into the game, and it showed.”
Senior Precious Masters is averaging 25 points and 16 rebounds for the Lady Bulldogs, while shooting 55 percent from the field. Katie Crutcher is averaging 12 points per game, and Jasmine Northrup is adding nine.
“Takayla (Antonio) played phenomenal on Friday," Wilkinson said. "She rebounded and scored really well. Jasmine (Smart) shot the ball superbly. Her outside threat really opens up stuff for everybody else in the paint, especially Precious. She kind of gets forgotten sometimes, because Precious has been at the top of the chain, but Jasmine does a lot for us and makes things a lot easier for Precious.”
Owyhee visited McDermitt on Saturday, and the Braves could not stop the Lady Bulldogs from the beginning, going down 67-25.
“Tonight’s game was huge for us,” Wilkinson said. “Owyhee has been a thorn in our side for many years. They are definitely not the team that they have been in the past but to be able to beat them the way that we did on our home floor was huge. It was big for my kids, especially Precious. She deserved that because she lost the state championship to them as a freshman, and also lost to them her sophomore year in the regional semi-finals, so there is a lot of bad blood there.”
McDermitt scored 20 points in each of the first three quarters against the Braves, while eleven was the highest quarterly total that Owyhee could muster.
"I thought we came out and played well from the beginning today," Masters said after the game. "I think I am having a really good season and the team has gotten a lot better from where we started. At the beginning we did not even think that we were going to have a team, and now we are cruising along, going after it. I love basketball because it gives me a place to go when I don’t have anything to do, or when I am feeling down; I grew up playing it. My favorite part of basketball is when the team comes together and we are all happy playing together.”
Eureka visits McDermitt on Friday for a 6 p.m. game.
The Lady Bulldogs have several days off before they finish off their only home stand of the year against Wells at 6 p.m. on Feb. 1.
On Feb. 9 they travel to Owyhee, Feb. 14 finds them at Carlin, and McDermitt finishes the year at Eureka on Feb. 15.
“The girls are so unselfish and they genuinely like each other, so it is fun to watch them play together," Wilkinson said.
The top four finishers in the Eastern 1A qualify for the Northern 1A Regional Championships in Reno from Feb. 21-23 at Wooster and Hug high schools.
